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Or sign-in if you have an account.The suspect runs past a bystander and toward police during a deadly shooting incident in Montreal on June 22, 2026, that claimed the lives of a police officer, an innocent bystander and the suspect, and left another police officer wounded. Photo by Screenshot/XEnjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorWithin hours of the tragic June 22 shootings in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada was calling for stricter gun laws.Canadians have heard this before.After the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, Canada strengthened its firearms laws. After the subsequent shootings at Concordia University and Dawson College, we heard renewed calls for more restrictions. Yet decades later, despite some of the strictest firearms laws in the democratic world, a Montreal police officer is dead, having made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting the public, and an innocent bystander has lost his life.Law-abiding firearms owners are licensed, vetted, trained, screened, regulated and monitored. Every new restriction is followed by people who obey the law.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againCriminals do not obey the law. That is the flaw in the mayor’s argument.The gang member carrying an illegal firearm does not care about another regulation. The violent extremist does not care about another prohibition. The individual prepared to murder innocent people or kill a police officer is not concerned with complying with firearms legislation.Every new restriction falls on those who follow the law, not those who break it.Before demanding more legislation, perhaps we should ask a simple question: Would another restriction on a licensed firearms owner have prevented the Montreal tragedy?If the answer is no, then our efforts should be focused on illegal firearms trafficking, organized crime, violent extremism, and giving police the tools they need to protect our communities.The best way to honour the fallen officer and the innocent victim is not to repeat the same political response after every tragedy. It is to focus on the people responsible for the violence and support the officers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe.Matthew Poplaw, Hampstead, Que.Re: Leading non-Jewish Canadians publish open letter — Ari David Blaff, June 27I am a 74-year-old immigrant and proud Canadian citizen who has also maintained strong ties to my birthplace, Greece. Throughout my life in Canada, I have lived, worked, and studied alongside people from many different backgrounds, cultures and religions. I have always tried to treat others with respect, and in return I have generally been treated with respect as well.In recent years, however, I have become increasingly concerned about the rise of hatred and intolerance, particularly toward Jewish people. This concern became especially strong during a recent one-month visit to Greece. When I returned to Canada, I considered writing this letter but hesitated. Then I read a news article describing parents attending a year-end event at a Greek elementary school, expecting to celebrate their children’s achievements, only to be confronted and led by the teachers in political demonstrations, Palestinian flags, and anti-Jewish slogans.Unfortunately, Canada has not been immune from the rise of such hatred and the hijacking of public events.Children should be able to attend school and participate in school events without being drawn into political conflicts from distant parts of the world. Likewise, Jewish Canadians should be able to live openly and safely without feeling targeted because of their identity or faith.As both a Canadian and a Greek citizen, I believe strongly in freedom of expression. However, freedom of expression should never become an excuse for hatred, intimidation, or the targeting of people because of their religion or ethnicity. We can debate governments, policies and international conflicts, but we should never normalize prejudice against entire communities.Canada has long been a country where people of different backgrounds can live together with mutual respect. I hope we do not lose that tradition. The rise of antisemitism, like all forms of racism and hatred, should concern every Canadian regardless of their political views.Panayotis Mourtos, TorontoI strongly support Energy Minister Tim Hodgson’s call for national unity. I wish to participate and I believe the most effective role for me would be governor general.I offer to serve one year without drawing the $393,800 salary. Instead, I will pay $393,800 in advance for the privilege. My first action would be to eliminate the $29-million annual operating budget for the Office of the Governor General. I can perform the role efficiently from my home office, as I do with my other ventures.Here is a forecast: I will not grant Royal assent to any law that treats any Canadian differently from another or that restricts our liberties and freedoms under the guise of protection. Such leadership, I believe, will add at least $1 trillion in value to Canada.Prime Minister Mark Carney, please call. I can start tomorrow.John P.A. Budreski, WhistlerRecent headlines reveal to me that “Canada Strong” has indeed gone off the rails.A plan to bail out developers in Vancouver who were basically capitalizing on the condo boom is ridiculous. And handing out more than $2 million in bonuses to Alto high-speed rail executives (who have yet to get a single metre of track laid) is just another example of elitism.Meanwhile, hospitals are in urgent need of a solution to take care of Canadians in need, with one in 10 patients — or 180,000 people — waiting 48 hours or more in emergency before they were moved to a ward bed or the operating room.And taxpayers across the country are failing financially, trying to to feed their families, paying for their commutes to work, paying home costs, and hopefully avoiding debt.To top it off, members of Parliament have headed off for a long holiday. I am sure many Canadians won’t have that luxury.Accountability is a word avoided by the current Liberal government. That needs to change.Douglas MacLean, Canmore, Alta.The Money Cup, otherwise known as the World Cup, has clearly put business ahead of sport, and the sad reality is that sports have now become solely a business. Is this the end game for these world events? The real win has become putting as much money as possible into organizers’ bank accounts at the expense of the players and the viewers.Douglas Cornish, OttawaA Quebec town’s decision to grant “rights” to trees — apparently in accord with an environmental lobby group — is another dangerous piece of legislation that may have an unfortunate tendency to spread. It should be firmly discouraged.“Protecting” trees affects farmers because we own the most privately owned trees. I hand-planted my entire farm in trees, matching their characteristics to my soils. I know my managed forest better than any government or urban person with time on their hands, and resent city folks deciding what I can do with them.My trees are my crop, like hay. I nurture them individually, though the physical labour at my age — filling gaps, suppressing grass and weeds and pruning for best form — is becoming onerous. Nonetheless, I intend them to be harvested sustainably, starting when some mature in about 60 more years.Let no politician or lobbyist dictate my farm forest practices.Charles Hooker, East Garafraxa, Ont.In his column, Michael Higgins noted that it was Chief Justice Richard Wagner himself who declared (through the Supreme Court’s registrar) that he need not recuse himself from the truckers convoy appeal.But it is not his decision. The Supreme Court of Canada test for whether a judge must recuse themselves for bias is “… Would an informed person, viewing the matter realistically and practically, and having thought the matter through, think it is more likely than not that the decision-maker, whether unconsciously or consciously, would not decide the matter fairly?”I am such an “informed person,” and I think he would not “decide the matter fairly,” so step back Your Honour.Jacques Konig, TorontoAs I was reading Amy Hamm’s article on new trillionaire Elon Musk, I thought of how we all strive to be rich and successful, but let one person succeed when we haven’t reached that pinnacle, and the slings and arrows start flying.The same applies to Israel. If that country was still a nomadic desert and the citizens were getting large amounts of money from the UN, then all our activists would be content. Nobody likes a successful, thriving, intelligent society. After all, it makes us look like such under-achievers. So what do we do to make us feel better? We let the world know that these people are the lowest of the low.I say, “Way to go Elon and Israel.“ We need people like Musk who set the bar high enough that we have to stand on our toes to reach the top. As for Israel, show me another country with such a small population that has given so much to the world in science, technology and medicine.Margaret Johnson, Airdrie, Alta.As a retired teacher receiving support for Post-Traumatic Woke Syndrome, I would ask my former colleagues to donate part of their pensions to a special fund to send all of our illiberal and hypocritical woke administrators on a one-way trip on Elon Musk’s rocket ship to Mars. There they can indoctrinate and submit the Martians to their authoritarian utopia free of their chosen oppressors, and teachers back on Earth can get back to truly empowering students to acquire the skills they will need to navigate this crazy world.Mike Sternberg, Ottawa Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.